Mary: An Awakening of Terror

Product Information

There is one reference in Mary which is hard to miss; Stephen King's debut novel Carrie (1974), in which an oppressed and bullied young girl gains unexpected powers once her menstruation kicks in. My reading experience: At one point in the story, Mary says something to her Aunt Nadine's dog, Chipotle (they say it like chip-oh-dull, haha), and the actress, Jennifer Coolidge got in my mind and stayed for the duration of this book, which was genius. Why do certain books grab my attention right away and keep me loyally in their hold until their endings?

And the comparison to Midsommer was a big reason that I requested it, only to have about…zero parallels to the movie. The main character is probably the most bland, unlikeable character I’ve ever encountered, and the absolute clusterfuck of a plot redeems nothing. This book also dives into social topics that aren’t really discussed to much—perimenopause and the treatment of women once they reach a certain age.I didn't lose interest but I did find myself wanting to read faster or skim unnecessary details a few times.

Also, major props to him for addressing his choice to give a middle aged woman a voice when he himself is a younger cishet man, and how he tried his best to be authentic in her voice and experiences. I love the lady earlier saying "I didn't know we were doing children now" like wow nothing is too much for these people. She kills her aunt by stuffing porcelain statues down her throat and somehow when she becomes a ghost, she’s cracking jokes and hovering around like this is a Disney movie.This book has been on my TBR for months—c’mon, once you see this cover, it’s impossible to not be intrigued, right? Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things. With the titular Mary being an unremarkable woman in her late 40s, there's a constant compare and contrast between society's lack of expectation and desire for unmarried women in that age, and her gradual control and understanding over her supernatural power. A story of this kind doesn't really need to be more than 400 pages and while I was never really bored I still felt like this could have been trimmed down quite a bit without losing it's magic.

I was really happy that Cassidy put a thorough content warning before the story began, because I was able to prepare myself a bit before digging in, but even with the content warning I still had moments where I just had to put the book down for a bit. I thought this was a novel about a woman who had suffered some trauma or breakdown in her life, now trying to cope with menopause and further emotional and physical upset.That probably sounds worst than it should, I didn't hate my time with the book I was just mildly bored, the writing wasn't bad but I didn't feel engaged or invested in anything happening. Why are we referencing demons and religion, but then none of that is even relevant, however reincarnation - oh, that part is real. While confronting both the bullies of her youth and the new cult that takes Cross as their prophet, Mary discovers that she may have a personal, past-life connection to the murders. Honestly though look at the world what's the difference because this stuff and worse happens every day to literal children.